Combination day and sleeping passenger vehicle



' A. E. HUTT Dec. 29, 1931.

COMBINATION DAY AND SLEEPING PASSENGER VEHICLE Original Filed Feb. 8, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet NVENTOR.

A ORNEYS.

Dec. 29, 1-931. U T 1,838,765

COMBINATION DAY AND SLEEPING PASSENGER VEHICLE Original Filed Feb. 8, 1928 zsneets-shet 2 v INVENTOR BYfl I U77;-

Patented 29, 1931 UNITED-STATES PATENT; OFFICE man a. myon new nocmnnxw YORK commarron my; AND mm rassmom a continuation of application Serial 1%. 252,748, mm February a, 1938'. lm 1928. Serial No. ao's,oes.

A My invention is a continuationvof my copending application Serial No. 252,748, filed February 8, 1928, and igelatesto a novel semidouble deck passenger carrying vehicle which 5 is capable. of accommodatin :a maximum number ofseated passengers or a minimum v of volumetric capacity and which does away with the present necessity of compelling passengers to stand in order to accommodate sufficient passengers for profitable o eration, whichis especially Tadapted at nig t to be converted into a sleeping coach.

My invention further relates to a novel construction which at night is adapted to be converted into a sleeping coach-and which is equally applicable to all kinds of passenger carryin vehicles such as motor coaches, street cars an railroad carriages where amaximum seating capacity is desired. 1

My m'vention relates more particularly to a novelarrangement of seats located in two .planes, the seats on the upper plane being ositione'd. above those'in the lower plane but acing in the opposite direction so as to rea duce to a minimum the distance between said 'u per and lower seats thereby producing a ouble deck vehicle ofa minimum overall height, which is readily adapted to be converted into a sleeping coach.

My invention further. relates to a novel arrangement of upper and'lower seats or sleep ing berths without the need of upper and lower aisles or passageways and therefore without the need of a stairway, such as is used at present on double deck motor vehicles.

My invention further relates toa novel construction wherein a single aisle positioned intermediately' of the upper and lower seats serves both said upper and lower seats and which is so disposed that both the up er and lower seats can readily be reached om it, said seats-being adapted to be converted at night into a slee I ing coach.- v

My invention rth'er relates to a novel vehicle adapted to be converted into a sleeping coach that can be built very near to the ground and still leave. adequate clearance for the transmission of power from the power a plant to the rear wheels due to the aisle being located as stated a h gher plane'than the vention is not limited to the precise arrangeapplioation fled September 14,

floor of the lower passenger carrying com.- partment.

My invention further relates to a novel vehicle structure of semi-double deck parlor coach typein which any pair of facing seats either upon the upper level or u on the lower level may be converted into a s eeping berth along lines similar to those now practiced upon railroad sleeping cars.

In the drawings: Figure 1 represents a longitudinal sectional elevation taken uponthe f e 1 -1 of Figure 6.

Figure 2 representsa sectional elevation taken on the line 2-2 of Fi re 3.

Figure 3 represents a horizontal sectlonal plan view takenon the line 3-3 of Figure 2. e Figure 4 represents a cross sectional elevation taken on the line 44'of Figure 2.

Figure 5 represents a cross sectional elevation taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 represents a cross sectional elevation taken on the line 6-'6 of Figure '1.

Figure 7 represents an enlarged perspec-- tive sectionalvview showing one manner of supporting the upper and lower seats to enable them to be slid towards each other for use as a berth at ni ht,

For the purpose 0 illustrating my invention I have shown in the accompanying drawin one form thereof which is at resent p e erredby me, since the same has n foun in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood that the various instrum'entalities' of which myinvention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that my inment andorganization of the instrumentalities as herein shown and described.

Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts, 1 represents my novel passenger. carrying vehicle such as a motor coach of the semi-double deck parlor coach type having the roof 2, the sides 3 and 4, the bottom floor 5, and the longitudinal aisle ,or passageway 6,Vwhich is-provided I with suitably spaced steps-7 leading to the lower seats 10 arranged on either side of and lid below said aisle or passageway 6 in pairs facing each other. .A series of suitably spaced steps 8 lead from said aisle 6 to the u per seats 9, and are arranged on either side said aisle and directly above and in vertical alignment with the lower seats 10. 11 and 12 desi -nate front steps leading from the vehicle i ront platform 13 to the aisle 6. 16 represents lower stanchions for supporting the u per seats 9 and which serve as grab-hen es for passengers entering and leaving the lower seats 10. The upper seats 9 are similarly provided with t e upper stanchions 17 serving as grab .handles for the passengers using said seats.

It will readily be seen from the above description that a passenger walking along the aisle 6 can with equal ease rcaci either an upper or a lower seat according to his preference or to whatever seats are avail able,

The above descri tion more particularly relates to the use 0 the coach or vehicle by day, but at night it is desirable to convert any pair of opposing seats, as the upper seats 9 or lower seats 10, into a sleeping berth. Each seat is provided therebeneath with a longitudinal tongue 18 slidable in ooves or ways 19 which may be integrall ormed or otherwise suitably secured wit the sides or walls 3 and 4: of the vehicle, see Figure 7, whereby these members when required may be shifted from the "position seen in Fi re 1 to the position shown in Fi re 2. e seat portions as 9 or 10 are sli towards each other and the lower seat backs 20 are then slid into the position seen in Fi ure 2. Mattresses 20 are then positione upon the seat members for sleeping purposes. Curtains are employed for concealmg these berths when made up, and as seen in Figures 2, 3, 4 and a plurality of these vertically disposed curtains 21 are suspended from the car roof 2. These curtains extend to the aisle 6 and one curtain conceals half of an up er and half of a lower berth, the meetin e es of two ,curtainsbeing seper compartments, when used as sleeping grths. The seats as may be supported and guided in any suitable or conventional manner as will be understood from Figure aisle 6 positioned nearer to the. floor of the 7 when they are slid towards each other as seen in Figure 2 to form berths, the construc: tion seen in Figure 7 bein omitted from the other views for the sake o clearness of illustration.

' It will be noticed that I have shown the upper compartment and that I have placed eeann gaps 7 in this aisle to make steps to the lower compartments or seats. This necessitates passengers stepping over these gaps when walking along the aisle. These gaps, however, need only be twelve inches wide or even less and may be illuminated with safety li hts so that obviously they will not be an acci ent hazard. It should be noticed, however, that I can just as well locate the aisle in another position relative to the upper and lower compartments and can either place gaps in it or make it continuous, whichever construc tion is best suited for the particular vehicle to be built, so that my invention is obviously not limited to the particular construction shown herewith.

While the vehicle typified in the drawings is a motor coach, the ower plant, transmission, steering and 0t er mechanisms have not been shown as the do not form part of the invention which is directed mamly to the passenger seating arrangement of the vehicle.

It will be further apparent that the seat- 1 ing and sleeping arrangement described herein can be applied with equal facility to electric street cars and also to steam and electric railroad carriages and the like, and in fact to a passenger carrying vehicle of any character.

It will be seen that when a passenger enters the vehicle by the conventional entrance door on the right side of the vehicle, that he mounts the front etc 11 and 12 which lead to the aisle 6 from which he can reach any oi the upper seats 9 by mounting a step 8 or any of the lower seats 10 by descending a step 7. Should he wish to use the rear toilet or wash room 15 he would use the step 14 at the rear end of the aisle 6. As the distance between the floors of the upper and lower comartment need only be approximately three eat, the aisle 6 could be located midway between them, in which case a passenger need only take either one step up or one step down to reach either an u r or lower seat or berth and there woul d be no need for any gaps in the aisle.

The compactness of a vehicle of this de: sign will be readily apparent since the overall height need not exceed 8 feet, nine inches, which is the present height of many single deck busses. This low overall height and lowered center of gravity greatly adds to the stability of the vehicle and results in a much saferoperation at higher speed by reason of a lower center of gravity than is now possible, all of which opens up a wider field for double, deck vehicles than has existed up to the present time.

As will be understood from Figure 2 there is an appreciable space or distance between the backs of the upper berths, which is in vertical alignment with the central portion masses of the lower berths, thereby affording standin'% room for the occupants of the latter. 7

am aware that the invention ma be embodied in other specific forms wit outde-' partin from the spirit or essential attributes thereo and I therefore desire the present embodiment to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appended claims rather than no to the foregoing description to indicate thesco e of the invention. a

aving thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let- I v ters Patent, is 15 1. The combination with a semidouble deck passenger carrying vehicle having a body, a single longitudinal aisle in said body, seats above and belowsaid aisle, and steps leading from said aisle to said seats, of means for slidably .securin said seats in position v with respectto said ody, whereby said seats may be slid into coacting osition to form a sleeping berth, and remova lesganels adapted to form partitions interm iate adjacent 25 berths. I

2. The combination with a semidouble deck passenger carryin vehicle having a' body, a longitudinal ais e in said body, vertically aligned seats above and below said an, aisle, and steps leadingfrom said aisle to said upper and lower seats, of a slidin tongue carried by the bottom of each of sai 1 seats,guidewa s for engaging said sliding tongues, wherelzy said seats may be slid from their seat forming osition into coacting posi- 40' tion.

tion to form bert s, and removable panels ada ted to form a partition intermediate eac pair of said upper seats, when said upper seats are in their berth forming posi- 

